The CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the announcement of one of the largest technology investments ever to take place in India. The company made known a huge US$17.5 billion (₹1.5 lakh crore) commitment to the acceleration of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) of the country and the creation of the “AI-first future”. Post the discussion, Satya Nadella mentioned that he was influenced by the developing dominance of India in the international AI forum. He pointed out that the new investment of Microsoft would allow the country to realize its AI dreams by the installation of digital infrastructure, training of the workforce, and uplifting the local AI capabilities. PM Modi was grateful for the announcement and declared that the world is optimistic regarding India’s transformation in AI, and certainly, the young generation of the country would seize this opening for innovation towards a better future. Microsoft’s announcement says that the current investment is a continuation of a previous US$3 billion undertaking devoted to cloud and AI infrastructure in Bengaluru for the next two years. The investment will support the establishment of new data centres, large-scale upskilling programs, and increased hyperscale presence—making India one of Microsoft’s most critical global hubs. The move signals the growing dependence of technology companies on India. Not long ago, Google declared considerable investment in a partnership with the Adani Group to establish an AI centre in Visakhapatnam, with the total estimated investments amounting to US$15 billion. Furthermore, Amazon and Qualcomm have also widened the scope of their semiconductor and AI-related operations in the Indian market. By promoting ethical, secure, and human-centric AI and with the government backing such a move, India is setting the stage to be a global leader in the responsible technology future shaping.
Microsoft’s ₹1.5 Lakh Crore AI Investment in India
